Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson says his loan spell at Notts County helped him "massively".
Patterson spent the first half of this season with the Magpies, making 11 appearances for Ian Burchnall's side in all competitions. The 21-year-old had been due to remain at Meadow Lane for the rest of the 2021-22 campaign but was recalled by his parent club in January.
Since returning to the Stadium of Light, the young stopper has been drafted into the first team and started 10 consecutive matches. He has kept five clean sheets in the past six games for the League One promotion hopefuls.
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Recalling his time with Notts in the National League, Patterson told the Black Cats' official website (via the Sunderland Echo ): "It was massive for me because obviously I played a lot of the 23s games, but the step up in quality, physicality and everything at that level helped me massively. I think you have seen that as I’ve come back and I think I’ve grown and progressed well from my time there.”
Sunderland boss Alex Neil has kept faith with Patterson since his appointment in February, despite on-loan Bayern Munich keeper Thorben Hoffmann being available once again after illness. “It gave me great confidence knowing that the manager has put his faith in me,” Patterson added. “I want to repay that faith back to him by performing well.
"I’m loving it and as a young player it’s what you want to do. You want to play the games at first-team level and thankfully I’ve been able to do that this season. There's no better feeling than walking out of the tunnel before the game and just hearing the fans roar and cheer. It gives me goose bumps.
“I’ve been here since I was a 10-year-old and I never really thought of being at the Stadium playing in front of that many people. It’s a proud moment for me and my family and I hope it can continue.”
Sunderland are sixth in the table - in a play-off spot - with six fixtures of the regular campaign remaining. Asked about the prospect of promotion, Patterson replied: “It would be massive for me being a Sunderland fan. I want to see the club back in the Championship and to be part of that would be massive and an amazing feeling.”
